School Notification Systems and Emergency Communication

September 18th, 2017

In the wake of several hurricanes striking the United States and Caribbean, many schools have begun thinking about their response to a potential natural disaster or other high-stakes situation. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with options, but your Edlio CMS has several easy-to-use tools included that can make it easier to communicate essential information to parents.

Homepage Alerts

Homepage alerts are easy to set up and are an unmistakeable way to notify visitors to your school’s website of essential information. If classes will be cancelled for a week due to flooding, make sure parents get the message by setting a pop-up message on your homepage. Smaller crises can also be made easier with homepage alerts - for example, letting football game attendees know that tonight’s game has been cancelled due to poor weather. Whatever the situation, a pop-up on your school’s homepage will get information out quickly and efficiently!

Email Sender

Sometimes, you may need to communicate more information than can fit into a pop-up (or maybe you’re especially verbose)! That’s where ouremail sender comes into play. With this tool, users can send emails to their contact lists without leaving their admin site, and with an official school header included. This tool is perfect for longer updates on an ongoing situation, like updates on school building damage after a tornado, or an extended school closure after a snowstorm. Once the situation has been resolved, send a quick email thanking everyone who pitched in to rebuild, provided cookies for a fundraising bake sale, or donated their time or money to your school.

Voice Messaging and Text Alerts

There’s a good chance you’re reading this article on your cell phone, and if you’re not, you’re still most likely checking it every few minutes. Reaching parents on their phones is essential for relaying messages that need a response ASAP, or for any time-sensitive information. With our voice messaging and text alerts tools, reaching parents immediately is easy. Send a quick text message to all parents to notify them that they need to pick up their children after an earthquake, or schedule a voicemail to be sent out after an unexpected break that reminds parents that “school’s back in session! Please remember to drop off your child by 8:30 AM”. If there are parents in your community with and without cell phones, text messages and voicemails used together will ensure that everyone in your community gets the message.

Social Media Manager

Sometimes it seems as though the internet has made the whole world into your backyard. We know you stay connected with people in your immediate community and beyond, so we’re here to help. With the social media manager, you can connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your Edlio site, and publish updates to one or more platforms immediately. If you know you’ll be posting regularly, you can even schedule posts to go out at a later time - one less thing to think about!

We know that you’re busy, and that you need a plan for emergency situations that’s flexible, easy to understand, and easy to implement. Edlio’s communication tools can make your job a little bit easier, allowing you to focus on what’s important. Take your emergency preparedness plan to the next level - get a website and CMS that will take the worrying away about what to do in a natural disaster.